Bay State Conference Looking to Add Three Schools, Third Athletic Division

Wellesley is among 12 schools currently part of the Bay State Conference, split into two divisions – Carey and Herget.

The Bay State Conference is exploring the possibility of expansion for the 2014-15 school year. Currently, The Bay State Conference consists of the following 12 schools (SY 2012 population included) – Wellesley (1353), Braintree (1529), Brookline (1770), Dedham (774), Framingham (2040), Milton (987), Natick (1301), Needham (1522), Newton North (1871), Norwood (1063), Walpole (1120), and Weymouth (1988). The 12 schools are divided into two divisions (Carey Division and Herget Division), based on enrollment, for championship play and for seasonal play at the junior varsity and freshman levels. The mission of the Bay State Conference shall be to promote the best interests of secondary education; to nurture cooperation, professional growth and…

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Sports Roundup May 14-20

The local track teams competed at the Bay State Conference championships, and the boys' lacrosse and girls' tennis squads stayed perfect.

Baseball: The Raiders missed a chance to pull closer to league leader Walpole, falling, 7-2, to the Rebels on Monday. The result assured Walpole at least a share of the Bay State Conference title. Wellesley (10-7, 7-5 BSC) didn’t play again this week because of rain and remains in second place in the Herget Division. Softball: Wellesley lost an entire week of play to rain, leaving the team to sit on its four-game losing streak. The Raiders (3-12, 2-9 BSC) will play an unusual Sunday game tomorrow morning at 11 a.m., when they host Walpole. Boys’ lacrosse: The Raiders continue to crush all comers, picking up two decisive victories this week. Wellesley (15-0, 10-0 BSC) overwhelmed Braintree, 13-2, on Tuesday and topped Newton North, 10-6, on…

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Brooks Pitches Baseball Team Over Dedham

The junior righthander threw seven innings of shutout ball and added two RBIs on offense in the Raiders' 4-0 win.

Wellesley starter Avery Brooks was five and two-thirds innings into his seven frames of shutout baseball, but he needed help. His offense had supplied not a single run in support of his cause, and his defense had just yielded an infield single. That’s when Blake Dowling provided the assistance Brooks needed. Showing remarkable range, the senior shortstop darted left in pursuit of a sharp grounder hit by Dedham’s Domingo Rodriguez, snared the ball and threw out Rodriguez from the other side of the second base bag. The Raiders (10-5, 7-3 Bay State Conference) responded to the sensational play by scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and adding runs in the seventh and eighth to beat the Marauders (7-6, 4-5 BSC), 4-0, Tuesday …

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Wellesley's Sports Story

Manufacturing Wins

Great production at the plate for the baseball team, despite losses from last year's senior class

With the loss of 11 key contributors to the Wellesley Raiders’ baseball team over the past two seasons, it would have been understandable to some fans if the program took a step back in 2011. But what would be the fun in that? Through nine games, the Raiders have stormed out to a 6-3 record overall, 3-1 in the Bay State Conference, and it should be noted that two of those losses came against state powerhouses Xaverian and Catholic Memorial, which coach Rob Kane deems “exclusion games” and don’t count against the Raiders’ official record. The prevailing thought entering the year was that Wellesley may struggle to score runs, with many of the power bats being among the 11 that graduated last June. In response, this year’s Raiders are …

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Tennis Team's Title Defense Begins with In-House Rivalries

The Raider boys return three studs in the singles slots, but nine players are competing for only four doubles positions.

The Wellesley boys’ tennis team faces a brutal schedule this spring — its non-league itinerary includes two reigning state champions and last year’s Division 1 runner-up — but for the first few weeks of the season, the Raiders’ toughest competition might be internal. No fewer than nine players are vying for four doubles slots, and head coach Mike Sabin says he likely won’t settle on two steady pairings until later this month. “We’ve never had a lineup at the beginning of the season that stayed the same all year,” said Sabin, whose Raiders won the Division 1 state title last year. “Guys get better, guys plateau, guys get injured.” Wellesley’s doubles contenders include senior Robert Miller; juniors Garrett Lam, Matt DiBiase, Nathan Nast, …

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Boys' Hockey Suffers Season's First Loss

Defending Bay State Conference champion Needham blanks the Raiders, 3-0.

In a clash between reigning division champions, Needham proved it is still the class of the Bay State Conference with a decisive, 3-0 victory over Wellesley Wednesday night at the Babson Skating Center. Sam Nickles, a senior defenseman, scored just 3:24 into the contest then potted a demoralizing, short-handed goal at 8:02 of the second period to lead the Rockets (2-0), who captured last year's BSC and Carey Division titles with a perfect, 16-0 league mark. J.P. McHale tallied the other goal for Needham, on a second-period power play. The Raiders (2-1), last year's Herget Division champs, were blanked after scoring 11 goals in their first two contests of this season. "We'll get lots of positives out of our effort," Wellesley head coach …

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